Quarterly Pause: Taking Personal Inventory

Welcoming a new season and checking in with ourselves

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the turn of the seasons, another gentle rotation in the wheel of the year. We are now in the first-quarter moon phase, metaphorically and seasonally speaking. If, like me, you dwell somewhere in the northern hemisphere, then we have reached the half way point between winter’s fertile slumber and a full summer’s bloom. Any dreams that we planted in the compost of the dark months may now be cracking through the surface toward the light. Here, there is a sense of growing anticipation. Those in the south, on the opposite spoke of the seasonal wheel, are now harvesting the last fruits of summer and preparing for the great retreat.

From Hina Luna’s archived zine, an illustrated wheel of the year with corresponding moon phases, elements and seasons (for the Northern hemisphere).

The first equinox of the year is nature’s opening scene in the north and the final act in the south. Wherever in the world you are reading this from, we are all existing in the in-between — waxing or waning. While my birds’ song has reached new volume in the morning hours as they carry grass and pluck the green spiders’ webs from the porch rafters for spring time nests, yours may be tucking away, suspended in bare branches. As we float in these liminal waters we may naturally feel called to take a personal inventory.

What is this next season calling for? What are you leaning into? What personal or collective dreams/visions/intentions are you tending to?

What do you feel ready to shed?

Themes of balance are swirling all around us now — renewal and decay, emergence and retreat, life and death. As we seek ways to integrate the season’s teachings and allow more balance into our lives, it is necessary to set down our baggage and reevaluate the things we carry so we can travel lighter as we journey onward in the season. So, dear sojourner, I invite you to unpack. With it all laid out in front of you, what will you choose to take? What are the necessities? What is weighing you down?

I make an effort to avoid using language that bypasses the heavy and hard stuff. While a positive emotional state and mindset can certainly transform our unique experience in the world, ignoring our personal and collective shadows doesn’t negate their existence and instead can leave untended wounds to fester. A more holistic perspective offers balanced self awareness and an invitation for well informed resolution. The common self-help concept of “letting go of that which doesn’t serve you” is a nuanced solution. What works: it encourages healthy boundary setting, it gives permission to clear our own internal paths, it’s a reminder to prioritize our mental and emotional well-being. What doesn’t work: it has the potential to be misinterpreted as an opportunity to evade personal responsibility, accountability, and consideration of anything that exists outside of ourselves. A helpful guide for sorting our stuff in a holistic way might be to ask ourselves “why am I feeling ready to let this go now?” and answering honestly. Consider it all.

That which we choose to continue to carry with us and that which we choose to set down is deeply personal and no one but you needs to know what you are carrying. As you sit with the contents of your metaphorical unpacked bags, embrace the high probability that there will be parts that weigh heavy and still need to be carried. Perhaps there is a way to pack them better than you had before, making them less burdensome.

Our animal bodies are familiar with these markers of time. It is natural to feel a heightened level of intensity and sensitivity during a seasonal change. How can we accept the invitation to choose a life of deeper connection, one that makes space to be present through these great transitions?  It doesn’t have to be hard work. It can be quiet, it can be soft. The only requirement is to listen.

May you journey through the new season with clarity, balance, and a lightened load.

Seasonal Reflection

Answer these questions however best serves you. I prefer written bullet-pointed shorthand lists or closing my eyes and letting the answers bubble up in my mind.

Unpacking your bags

How are you feeling in this moment? In this season of the year? In this season of your life?

What are you carrying — for yourself or for the collective — that feels heavy? How long have you been carrying it? Which heavy things still require your energy and which do you feel ready to release? Why?

Be honest with yourself and release judgement. This evaluation is only for you.

Repacking for the season ahead

What intentions/visions/dreams have you chosen to carry into the season ahead? What about any heavier things that still require your energy? Why have you chosen to take these things with you into the new season?

How might you distribute the weight of your energetic, emotional, mental, and spiritual belongings? In other words, how might you carry them with you and feel less weighed down by them?

How do you hope to feel by the end of this next season?

Wishing you a gentle unfolding into the next season,